To apply some context to this release it first surfaced towards the back end of 2021 in a digital format. Therefore whether you are a streamer or Bandcamp purchaser it has been freely and readily available to explore. The word 'explore' is certainly pertinent considering the direction Sam Outlaw has headed in this, his third release since committing to life as a full time recording artist. To supplement its digital status POPULAR MECHANICS is now available on CD from March 4th and a vinyl version will follow in April. This is convenient as our original LA native is due to embark on an extensive run of European dates, a side of the pond that has served him well over the years.
Sam Outlaw has a large amount of credit in the bank on the back of his two previous albums. ANGELENO launched him as a serious operator on the country-Americana borderline in 2015 and TENDERHEART moved it up a notch a couple of years later. On those albums were a number of tracks of what is referred to these days as 'bangers status', and these were ably supported by countless trips to the UK to not only play venue shows but frequent stages at senior festivals like SummerTyne, Maverick and Cambridge Folk. Just before the world closed in, he played a successful Friday night headline slot at Long Road.
However you always felt that some sort of change was on the cards. This was not to discredit his adopted style, and he could really nail a traditional country sound in full band flow. Maybe there was a hope that those who enjoyed his music would remain loyal to a new direction and believe in the artistic license to evolve. To this extent even in the deep throes of the new album where the production has veered in an old school pop-rock direction you never lose sight of this being a Sam Outlaw album. Perhaps the trademark vocals made a deeper mark than realised and patches of the new record can still edge into the outer reaches of Americana.
From a progression perspective, there has to be some ambition of courting a new band of followers and this may occur with some astute marketing. More likely the initial journey will commence in the realm of an existing fanbase with a commercial desire that enough will buy into this facet of a career.
Having been an advocate of his work from the early days of seeing him open solo for Aaron Watson in Birmingham to playing that storming set at Long Road in 2019, an open mind as kept the balance in credit. Admittedly a casual glance on a brief listen last November from a low key opening didn't penetrate the sphere of new releases, but giving it a lot more time in the run up to the re-launch has yielded enough merit to understand what has been done and to gain something from the experience. Topping the previous two albums is probably not on the table. Creating a new template is a more likely agenda, and with such an objective POPULAR MECHANICS has successfully accomplished that for Sam Outlaw.
